Related

With Pat Shurmur all but set to take over as the next head coach of the Giants, Spagnuolo, who was the interim head coach for four games, could end up staying with the team at his former position, defensive coordinator.

When Spagnuolo was the head coach with the St. Louis Rams, Shurmur was the offensive coordinator for the first two seasons before he got the Cleveland Browns’ head coaching job in 2011.

Shurmur may have to wait until late January or early February to pick a staff due to the Minnesota Vikings’ current playoff run that could lead them to hosting Super Bowl LII in three weeks. As a result, and with the other vacancies out there, Shurmur may miss out on several other desired assistants as roles are filled.

However, he and Spagnuolo have a very good working relationship, and despite the fact that Shurmur beat his former boss out for the Giants’ head coaching job, he could look to keep Spags on his next staff with the Giants.

Granted, fans yearning for a massive changes to the coaching staff may not be thrilled with the idea of Spagnuolo remaining with the Giants as the defensive coordinator.

In two of the three years that Spagnuolo has been the defensive coordinator, the Giants defense has been near the bottom of the NFL. The 2017 season isn’t as fair of an assessment given all of the injuries to key players, drama and changes.

In 2016, Spagnuolo’s defense was near the top of the NFL and a major reason why the Giants went 11-5. That defense had similarities to the one Spagnuolo ran in 2007; the same year the Giants won Super Bowl XLII and ultimately why Spagnuolo got hired as the Rams head coach.

Spagnuolo didn’t get hired this time around after serving as the interim head coach, but given his track record with the team, his popularity among the players and within the Giants organization, and the amount of respect he has as a football coach could earn him the chance to stay put in East Rutherford.

Even though the Giants went 1-3 in his four-game tenure as the head coach, the players fought hard in every game for Spagnuolo. The team didn’t have a certain feel to it when McAdoo was the head coach for the first 12 games. Things seemed to be different when Spagnuolo took over in early December.

The 1-3 record may not look good, but Spags was also forced into a very tough situation due to McAdoo, especially with the benching of Eli Manning. Inserting Manning back into the lineup easily won him over with the fans and the media. The way he handled himself in the final month may have won him a chance to stay put, even if it wasn’t as the permanent head coach.